578 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 200 



has been taken only along tlie edge of the 

 continental plateau, in water near the one- 

 hundred-fathom line, from points south of 

 No Man's Land, Block Island and the east- 

 ern portion of Long Island. The ' range ' 

 of the species, as at present determined, is 

 restricted to a tract of the sea bottom about 

 one hundred and fifty miles in length, and 

 ten to fifteen miles in width. The 'stations,' 

 however, are few, and further investigation 

 may result in a considerable extension of 

 the range. The fish that have been caught 

 during the past summer differ in respect to 

 size from those that were caught before the 

 mortality ; for, while many are large, 

 weighing fully twenty pounds, there are 

 also many small immature individuals 

 which often weigh but a pound or two. 

 This percentage of immature fish would 

 seem to indicate that the present environ- 

 mental conditions are favorable, and that 

 the species has become re-established. 

 H. C. BuMPus, 

 Director of Biological Laboratory. 

 U. S. F. C. Station, Woods Holl. 



I^OTE — The Grampus again visited the 

 tile-fish grounds the latter part of Septem- 

 ber, returning to Woods Holl on October 2d, 

 with over two hundred and three fish, 

 weighing upwards of 3,000 pounds. This 

 last catch was made between the meridians 

 of 69 and 70 west longitude, a tract that 

 has not heretofore been known to be occu- 

 pied by the fish, and indicates an eastern 

 extension of the range of about twenty-five 

 miles.— H. C. B^ 



SEBIA TION CUR VES OF THE CEPHALIC INDEX. 

 As a contributor to the discussion of 

 the problems of ' type ' and ' variation,' few 

 sciences can offer a more comprehensive 

 data for analysis than physical anthropol- 

 ogy. Especially during the last ten years 

 the number of observations available, based 

 upon the study of European populations, 

 has become very large. As late as 1885 



the most considerable cranial series which 

 Topinard* could muster were those of 

 Eanke for the Bavarians and of Broca for 

 the Parisians respectively. These, number- 

 ing one thousand each, were at that time 

 considered extraordinarily comprehensive. 

 Yet, since the development of the younger 

 school of anthropologists, whose leading 

 principle has been to confine their measure- 

 ments to the most simple alone, but to 

 extend the number of individuals to a maxi- 

 mum, series of far greater range are possi- 

 ble. Interest in cephalic rather than cranial 

 measurements, the living specimens being 

 limited in number only by the endurance of 

 the observer, has contributed greatly to this 

 result. An analysis of a few seriation 

 curves based upon such observations is not 

 without importance even outside the limits 

 of those interested in physical anthropology 

 alone. Methods and principles are in- 

 volved which apply to every branch of 

 physical science, from astronomy to psy- 

 chology.f 



There is another imperative reason for 

 calling attention to the significance of these 

 seriation curves of cephalic observations. 

 They are a most conclusive refutation of 

 the statement, which reappears from time 

 to time among those who do not consider 

 the statistical aspects of physical anthro- 

 pology, that the cephalic index measuring 

 the proportions of the head is devoid of 

 ethnic significance. Confused by the phe- 

 nomena of individual variation, these critics 

 lose sight of the value, when properly 



* Elements d' anthropologie, pp. 387 ei seq. 



fThe best technical discussion of snch curves 

 among antliropologists will be found in Goldstein, 

 1883 ; Stieda, 1883 ; Ammon, 1893 and 1896o ; Livi, 

 1895 and 1896a, pp. 22 et seq. Dr. Boas has con- 

 tributed excellent material, based upon the American 

 Indians for the most part. Full titles of all these papers 

 will be found in our Bibliography of the Anthropology 

 and Ethnology of Europe ; which, after more than a 

 year of preparation, is shortly to be issued as a special 

 bulletin by the public library of the city of Boston. 



